after sliding out on some ice I was down for a season due to 9 stitches in a tender area. i've been riding comfortably with these bad boys for 3 years now and they've literally saved my ass a number of times. one of the hip plates did start to crack (1-2" along the edge) after a particularly aggressive interaction with a rock, but they're still doing work daily. i've rocked these for MTB downhill racing as well, they're versatile as hell and comfy too. i honestly forget i'm wearing them, until i bail off/into a rail and thank the lawd allmity i'm protected.

tl;dr: WEAR PROTECTION. no reason not to. Getting stitches in the sphincter hurts like a bitch, take my word for it.

these things are pretty beast, i've been running one up front for over a year through a couple tires (minion DHF and a 909) both 2.7" and its held up to anything i could find. pinch flats/blow outs are a thing of the past. its also notably lighter then the Intense DH tube i've got in the back.

ridiculous grip, this will stop you dead no matter what. with a minion DHR/DHF setup i've got zero grip worries. couple things to note tho:

these BARELY cleared my '04 DJ3 fork to the point where they ate through the paint inside the crown over the years. The fork says it'll fit a 2.8 but the 2.7's were really pushing it. check for clearance issues. also there's ridiculous rolling resistance if you're pedaling around, so if youre a retard like me and take your DH bike on urban runs without swapping rims/tires you should prbly look elsewhere. or just man up and think of it as a form of resistance training.

ridiculous grip, this will stop you dead no matter what. with a minion DHR/DHF setup i've got zero grip worries. there's ridiculous rolling resistance if you're pedaling around, so if youre a retard like me and take your DH bike on urban runs without swapping rims/tires you should prbly look elsewhere. or just man up and think of it as a form of resistance training.

set up on my hardtail (sram 9 spd cassette, RF 22/32/bash) which got ridden mostly urban for the fall/winter. I got alot of chain slap and didn't have a wrap for a while so i guess the links were deforming? all i know is that the chain was constantly kinking. sometimes i could loosen the links up but a half dozen times i had to pull it. the chain would run fine for a day or two then start kinking again. after pulling links until it was necessary to go SS the chain eventually snapped cranking towards a stair drop and left me way short, then walking home. good thing i didn't go with a "no-name, budget chain" to "save some dough"

bought a $8 kmc chain that held up great until i went with a 1/2 link when i did a full bmx driveline

No complaints with these beasts, i've clipped trees on diablo DH runs, picked up and kept ripping. They breathe well enough for pedaling in the summer and are warm enough for riding urban in the winter. My friends white ones got dirty reaaaallly fast, so i'd recommend the black. mine still look awesome

I'm on my 3rd set of these pimps, i've been rocking them for years. soft, comfy durable etc
the only issue is that after a while they soak up some stink and then will never stop reeking.